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F1 benefits from FEA

Sept. 11, 2005
Minardi Formula 1 Race Team engineers wring the most performance out of their chassis designs, reduce design-tofabrication cycle times, and save money by limiting the number of iterations associated with testing prototypes.

Minardi F1 race team engineers digitize monocoque carbon-fiber-type chassis designs down to the smallest fiber using NEiNastran FEA software.

Minardi Formula 1 Race Team engineers wring the most performance out of their chassis designs, reduce design-tofabrication cycle times, and save money by limiting the number of iterations associated with testing prototypes. The Feanza, Italy-based team does so using finite element analysis (FEA) software called NEiNastran.

In particular, NEiNastran, from Noran Engineering Inc., lets Minardi digitize, down to the smallest fiber, its monocoque carbon-fiber-type chassis designs. The team then conducts precise testing through FEA to meet stringent safety standards and analyzes such design criteria as aerodynamics, flexural stiffness, structural requirements for suspension and engine mounting and weight.

According to Paolo Marabini, a chief engineer for Minardi, the software delivers full compatibility and accuracy and comes with professional and quick technical support from Noran and SmartCAE. As Noran's European distributor, SmartCAE guided Minardi in evaluating whether or not to switch to NEiNastran.

Marabini says the key to the successful changeover at Minardi hinged on SmartCAE's team delivering accurate results, fast implementation, reduced modeling time and easy access to legacy data. "Our close contact with the Noran development team also ensured added value, expert assistance with technical issues and customertailored solutions."
nenastran.com